Canberra is willing to assist banana exporters comply with its animal
health and plant regulations so they can again access the Australian
market, which has been closed to Philippine bananas for more than two
decades.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely said,
however, that no Philippine exporter has approached Canberra and has
signified interest to ship bananas to Australia.

'The Philippines is the only country in the world for which
Australia has agreed [that] bananas could be exported. But for that to
happen, the Philippines need to meet some risk-management measures,
because Australia has its own banana industry and we have some issues
around disease control,' Gorely said at the BusinessMirror Coffee
Club forum held in Makati City on Wednesday.

'My view is that Philippine banana producers are not that
interested in the Australian market. I repeatedly say, if a Philippine
company wants to export to Australia, come and tell me and we will work
with them,' she added.

Gorely said Filipino exporters prioritize Asian markets, such as
Japan and South Korea, where they have a bigger share, compared to
Australia where banana production is sufficient to meet domestic
demand.

'If companies come to me and are interested in exporting to
Australia, I'm sure we can work with them to meet the SPS,'
she said. 'No [Philippine] company has done that.'

Gorely added there are opportunities for Filipino exporters to ship
bananas to Australia. She noted that there were years when Australians
were forced to pay more for bananas after plantations in North
Queensland were destroyed by cyclones.

The price of banana reached as high as $15 per kilogram in 2006 and
2011, when cyclones ravaged most of Australia's banana
plantations.

Last year Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Trade
Secretary Ramon M. Lopez urged Canberra to allow the entry of Philippine
bananas, which have been barred from Australia since 1995.

In October 2002 Manila filed a complaint against Australia at the
World Trade Organization (WTO) for its de facto ban on Philippine
bananas. Manila argued that Philippine bananas were no threat to
Australian bananas because it does not intend to fill Australia's
entire demand for bananas. To date, the dispute has yet to be
resolved.

Gorely also encouraged Philippine mango exporters to expand their
shipments to Australia. In November 2016 Canberra allowed the shipment
of Philippine mangoes to Australia, except those from Palawan, which are
not yet free from mango seed weevil.

Philippine banana and mango companies, Gorely said, are big
international firms that are capable of meeting Canberra's animal
and plant health regulations.

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